Carolyn Wilman
founded Imagination Edge Inc.* in 1994 as a small-business marketing consulting firm. She created On-Demand and Relief Marketing services allowing small companies to obtain the experience and personalized services of a professional marketer without the financial commitment of a marketing department or adding additional full-time staff.
CONTEST QUEEN
In 2004, after spending two years managing the backend of the business as well as being a stay-at-home mom, Carolyn took the love of her contesting hobby and combined it with her extensive marketing background. The result was the first Internet-focused contest resource book in Canada called You Can’t Win If You Don’t Enter, released in 2006. In conjunction with the book, she launched Contest Queen the hub of all things contesting, the first contest resource website, with links to contesting sites, groups and forums, contest management companies, contesting software, and more. The American Edition of You Can’t Win If You Don’t Enter was released in 2008. To date, her Online Contesting System has helped others win over $1,000,000 in cash and prizes. The 2nd Edition; How To Win Cash, Cars, Trips & More! was published in 2016. The 3rd Edition: Prizes, Prizes, Everywhere! will be released in 2021.
Carolyn has a unique perspective having “sat at both sides of the table”, as both marketer and entrant, she is able to help her clients understand promotions from their customer’s perspective and avoid the types of mistakes currently occurring in contests over and over again. She created Contest Auditing, Contest Pre-testing and Contest Education and Strategies services allowing companies to ensure a contest is designed to meet their objectives, and the promotion is operating properly, within government regulations, before public release.
IDEA MAJESTY
In 2014 Carolyn launched a new venture; Idea Majesty, to meet the growing demands of her social media marketing services and digital online marketing plans. Services offered are drawn directly from Carolyn’s experience as both an entrepreneur and author. Her specialty is helping other small businesses reach their goals and maximize their potential by offering marketing consultation, content creation, and curation along with community management.
Helping both entrepreneurs and corporations create digital marketing plans to seamlessly engage with new target markets, Carolyn has worked with international organizations to navigate the Canadian and American social media marketplace as language, verbiage, and business practices vary globally.
She is also uniquely suited to help other authors, whether self or professionally published. Carolyn helps them successfully navigate the world of publishing and promotion avoiding the traps 98% of authors fall into by teaching them how to connect with their core following along reach out to new readers combining online and offline marketing programs.
Her efforts as a marketing expert landed her on the cover of Marketing Magazine in 2006, she was named by MORE Magazine as one of Canada’s Top 40 Women over 40 in 2007 and was featured in the premiere episode of High Stakes Sweepers on TLC in 2011.
In 2019 Carolyn decided to big up a gauntlet that was given to her in 2008. She bought the rights to all of Helene Hadsell’s work. After being out of print for over 30 years, the first book to be updated and re-published was Contesting: The Name It & Claim It Game. In Contact With Other Realms was re-published shortly after. Confessions of an 83-Year-Old Sage, and A Man Called Friday will be re-published in 2021.
AWARDS
Carolyn was nominated in 2006, 2008 and 2009 for the RBC Canadian Woman Entrepreneur of the Year, and in 2006 for Entrepreneur of the Year with the Whitby Chamber of Commerce. You Can’t Win If You Don’t Enter was selected as the Runner-Up in the Non-Fiction Category at the 2006 DIY Book Festival and Runner-Up in the How-To Category at the 2008 DIY Book Festival.
In 2008 she received both her Competent Communicator and Competent Leader designations from Toastmasters International, in 2015 achieved her Advanced Leadership Bronze designation, in 2016 achieved her Advanced Communicator Bronze and in 2019 she obtained her Advanced Communicator Silver. Carolyn is also the President of her local Toastmasters club; Lunchtime Talkers.
*NOTE: Imagination Edge Inc. was officially closed in 2009.
